Adult film star denied from stand

Deepa Bharath

A Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a request of defense

attorneys in a high-profile gang-rape case to admit the testimony of

a former porn star who said she believes the tape of the alleged rape

seems to be an amateur attempt at filming a kinky sex scene with the

girl’s consent.

Greg Haidl, son of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, Kyle

Nachreiner and Keith Spann are accused of raping an unconscious

16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her in the elder Haidl’s

Corona del Mar home. The incident was captured in a 20-minute

videotape the defendants made.

The prosecution has maintained that the girl, only identified as

Jane Doe, became unconscious after drinking a mixed drink Nachreiner

handed to her. The defense has said the sexual acts were consensual.

Judge Francisco Briseno said he didn’t feel the jury needed to

hear from Sharon Mitchell, a porn star turned sexologist, to decide

what was on the videotape.

On Wednesday, Mitchell briefly took the stand to tell the court

she believed the tape was “consistent with pornography.”

There were many “positions” adopted on the tape that are popular

in porn films, she said.

“You have to have a degree of athletic ability to do these acts

and you have to be conscious,” Mitchell said.

She also noted that she saw the girl brush her hair from her face

several times. The appearance of the objects that were used, such as

a Snapple bottle, a juice can and a pool cue, suggested to Mitchell

that the teens had done some type of “negotiation” before indulging

in the acts, Mitchell said.

“All in all, I think this was an amateur attempt at making a porn

film,” she said.

Attorneys for Spann and Nachreiner did not join the Haidl defense

team in this motion to admit Mitchell’s testimony.

Defense attorney Pete Scalisi said outside the courtroom that he

was disappointed the judge wouldn’t admit Mitchell’s testimony.

“She’d have offered a lot to the jury in terms of how such films

are made,” he said.

Mitchell’s testimony would have rebutted the statements of Trinka

Porrata, a date-rape expert who testified for the prosecution saying

the girl appeared to have been drugged.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder said she agreed with Briseno

that the defense had “no foundation” to bring in Mitchell as a

witness.

“It’s another attempt by the Haidl defense to try and take the

attention away from the actions of their client,” she said.

Attorneys are expected to argue a motion for mistrial today. The

judge will also decide whether to quash a subpoena served by the

defense to Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.